Thursday, November 02, 2006
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UK TEENS...Europes worst!
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BRITAIN'S youths are some of the worst behaved in Europe, according to new research.
A series of studies by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), show British 15-year-olds are drunk more often, involved in more fights and a higher proportion have had sex, compared with their counterparts in Germany, France and Italy.
The figures state that in 2003, 38 per cent of 15-year-old Brits had tried cannabis, as opposed to 7 per cent in Sweden and 27 per cent in Germany. According to the IPPR, the studies suggest that British adolescents can be defined by how they spend their spare time.
While 45 percent of 15-year-old boys in England and 59 per cent in Scotland spend most evenings with friends, in France that figure stands at just 17 per cent. And in Europe, teenagers are more likely to sit down to a meal with their parents. In Italy 93 per cent eat regularly with their families, compared with 64 per cent in the UK.
Nick Pearce, director of the IPPR, said last night the figures pointed to "increasing disconnect" between children and adults, with youngsters learning how to behave from each other. He said: "Because they don't have that structured interaction with adults, it damages their life chances. "They are not learning how to behave - how to get on in life - as they need to." The IPPR report will be published in full on Monday.
SHEwasLOVED on 1:32 PM
